Lag BaOmer events: After the IDF recommended last week not to hold the Rashbi Be Zion celebration in Meron this year, in any format, the Rebbe of Bayan will hold the mass lighting ceremony on Shabbat evening in Jerusalem, where the Hasidim's 'Shabbat Ta'achdut' will take place. This was first reported in Kol Chai.
However, in order to preserve his hold on Meron, the Rebbe will also hold a limited lighting ceremony at Zion in Meron, as he does every year, with a limited number of people allowed to enter the compound.
Hasidic communities are having a hard time coming to terms with the possibility that this year the ascent to Mount Meron will not be possible - which will be declared a closed military area, probably for 10 days - and are beginning to organize for alternate lighting stations.
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For example, the influential Rabbi Elimelech Biderman will hold a lighting ceremony in Beit Shemesh, with thousands of participants.
A source close to the planned production in Meron tells Haredim 10: "Mount Meron is the most remote place in the north, with a 30-second warning time, guided missiles, without obscenities - when there are intelligence alerts about Hezbollah firing specifically on Lag BaOmer.".
It should be noted that the Ministry of Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition submitted a budget request to hold exchange events across the country, alongside outreach - but at the moment the Ministry of Finance is not 'moving forward' with the requested plans.
